City of Angels
by KGabMI
Summary: Parallel to the Day After Tomorrow, story of 2 Los Angeles friends, and their story of survival through the storm...Many movie news stories and annoucements taken. chapter 12 up...R
1. Chapter 1

City Of Angels

Chapter 1

Allison's car pulled up the driveway, parked, and opened. She quickly got out, and bounded for her friend's old house in Venice, furious at the lateness of her errand. She quickly got in and flicked the TV on, and she went about her promise to help Kevin with cleaning and packing this house for sale, while he finished his doctorate in Hawaii. She was a startling 5'10, with beautiful dark hair, and brown eyes. She had a degree in vet science, and a degree in meteorology, if only to best Kevin, and continue the fun high school torture of her knowing more. He was an atmospheric science major, with a lot of recognition within the high government offices, including the National Severe Storms Laboratory, NOAA, and the National Weather Service. Of course, his greatest reference and scholar was his professor Dr. Gary Hauloakianoa, or Dr. Hal. But as Kevin had said many times, his greatest help and influence was Allison, and that, plus the fact that they have been best friends since high school, was the reason why she chose to help house watch and pack it for moving. Of course, she never fully understood his thinking, like why he chose to sell this beautiful house here on the beach for an almost rundown that he had a crew working on back in the Hollywood Hills. When questioned, his only reply would be _because I would like to be more inland_.

Today, though, was a little different. She really wanted to use his plasma (how he got it, she could never find out) to try to catch the tail end of the Global Warming conference in New Delhi. They both had been really interested about the state of the climate, not only because of their fascination with weather, but also because of the startling story months ago of satellite pictures and scientist report of the North Pole being basically complete blue ocean and the average temperature being about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, far from the normal 40 degrees. She hit the on button, turned the remote to a high volume, and went to the back of the house, looking over the ocean, to finish sealing and transporting the last of the boxes, before it was finally time to pack the TV (she stalled in order to make full use of it). She taped the remaining 4 boxes, listening to the reporter in India.

_"I am here outside the Global Warming convention in New Delhi, where, if you can believe, it is snowing. The coldest weather on record, has thrown the city into chaos..."_

Allison stopped, not believing a word she heard, and turned to the big screen. Sure enough, there was a reporter, dressed in a heavy parka, with snow falling all around. And as if the news crew knew of her disbelief, a view of the Taj Mahal, with snow capped tops, filled the screen. Surely though, this must be a prank. This has to be... there was no way this was real. A low rumble came then from the pacific, and she turned toward the ocean. A dark, black cloud was coming over the horizon, bringing lightning in the distance. Her first instinct was to phone Kevin, and get his opinion, and to see if this particular news report was just a prank of the irony of protesters outside about the US and global warming. But then again, last she heard, he, and the rest of the meteorology department and soon-to-be-grads were frantically tracking about 2-3 severe storms, all of which at this point have become tropical storms. Her logic told her that even though he was always happy to talk to her, he was probably very stressed. She turned back, packed the last boxes up on a dolly, and carted them out to the moving truck, which had been coming here for 2 days.

On returning to the TV, ready to disconnect it, she just stopped to listen for a few more minutes. Now the reporter was talking about an almost heated argument between the vice president and the speaker, an American paleoclimatologist. Of course, the news crew was deeply immense in laughter of the VP arguing with a member of his own nation on whether the environment was as fragile as the economy. She shut it off, and bent down to the plug, when her cell phone rang. She took a quick glance at the LCD screen, at the number. To her surprise, it was Kevin. She quickly answered it. "Hey"

"Hey Alli, I finally got a break here, how's the house, you know, if you don't want to keep working on it, I can probably find a way to extend to time limit" Typical Kevin, cared more about his friends than his well being, but she knew he didn't really mean what he said, he was already feeling guilty for making her do this.

"C'mon, you know just as well as I do that this house is suppose to be empty and ready by 3pm today, so what's up?"

"I just thought I'd check up on it, you know" _Yah, right, sure_, she thought

"Kevin, what's going on?"

"You already know of the 3 cells we were tracking, well, one has finally gotten past the hurricane stage, and dissipated, for some reason. But there are still two, we have the growing category 5 typhoon off the coast of New Zealand expecting to make landfall all the way into Australia by this evening, and then there is the tropical storm south of here for us, just standing there. And now there is another storm brewing in the south pacific, starting to some north...its been crazy"

Allison was about to except this, but something popped into her head, "Anything else I should know?"

There was a long pause. "We have also notice that global weather patterns and climate have been shifting. For the continental US, it seems the weather patterns have shifted west. I just wanted to know if anything unusual has been happening over there."

She thought about the thunderstorm out by the ocean, "No, just a few more thunderstorms, and the news trying to get me to believe that India has snow."

"Uh, Alli, New Delhi is currently minus 5 degrees Celsius. It really is snowing over there. And speaking of the conference, it looks like our global warming theory was already thought of, and recently proven. Scary when you think it, and take notice of the changes going on in our weather. Well, I'm getting called again, I happen to be in charge of the Hawaii tropical storm team, for the storm south of us. Take care, I'll talk to you later when I can... oh, and thanks for your help with the house, I really appreciate it, looks like I owe you something. Bye"

Allison listened for the click, and then the silence, before closing her phone. She then packed the TV, packed the truck, and closed it. After closing the house, she got to the truck driver about the directions, and then got into her own car, and drove away in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Kevin went back to his desk at the University of Hawaii's storm center. He was sitting in front of a bunch of monitors showing all kinds of data and graphs, as well as different satellite images and IR pictures of the tropical storm building up south of the big island. He picked up the hastily made placard in front of his desk and read it: KEVIN GABRIEL: HAWAIIAN TROPICAL STORM TEAM HEAD. He sighed…. there should be a Dr. title on that placard…his graduation has been postponed indefinitely when NOAA went to work with the new and unusual Pacific storms, and as far as he knew, there has been no talk about the doctorate graduation. He placed it back; only to notice the pile of paperwork covering a picture he had placed, one of the only pictures he brought to Hawaii when he went to work on his degrees. There he was, him, Allison, and some of their friends, all with their arms wrapped on each other's shoulders. It was basically the last picture they took of them all as a group, before moving on…at a going away party. Allison had gone to college in Scotland with another one of their friends in the picture; Kevin went here to Hawaii; and well, he really had no idea where the other 3 shown went. He paused, staring at Allison smiling back at him. She never should have been working on his Venice home; he was supposed to have been back from graduation by then. He should have been there, helping here, and overseeing the completion of the renovations of a new house in the Hollywood Hills. Everyone kept asking why move to that place, and only he knew why. If they only knew what renovations were being done, they would know. But its not like he could freely tell them, at least not yet. This just added more guilt, that not only was his best friend working her butt off to help him, without him, but that for the first time since he first met her in middle school, he was keeping something from her, even if it was just for a surprise. Kevin was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't notice one of his good friends and professors walk up behind him.

"_Kewine? Aloha? 'Oe 'ike hiki? _You feel alright?"

Kevin practically jumped out of his chair, nearly dropping his only access to LA at that point. "_Kaumaha_, sorry Dr. Hal"

"Kevin… what's wrong. You know you're looked upon very highly."

"I know, I'm just… well, I never really expected to be here this long."

"I understand, and you should know, you have done way more than any of your classmates have, and you have my thanks. Don't worry, this is just a strange anomaly, and hey, this is what you'll have to do during hurricane season. Hey tell you what, I'll let you-"

"Oh my God, this is incredible! The Japan storm is heading inland, and I've never seen this kind of power!" shouted someone monitoring the new storm system near the Japanese home islands. People started moving and stirring about in their chairs with the news update.

Dr. Hal looked up and went back into his commanding pose. "Show me, on the large screen."

The big LCD panels at the front of the room lit up with a Doppler radar of the storm heading into the island, directly towards Tokyo. Kevin looked up and was amazed at what he saw. The Doppler showed nothing but purple and white, indicators of the highest possible levels of power and energy. He just stared at the immense storm, with only three words he could utter, "Oh my God."

Dr. Hal never even flinched, openly flinched, that is. But even Kevin could tell that he was amazed. "Transmit all date to the respectable stations. We're suspending multiple tracking, I want everyone on this storm. Kimo, what are we looking at here?"

An older student, not yet ready for doctorate study but finished with his masters, spoke. "Surface temps dropping, rain… uh, professor, I think we may be seeing hail, but the computer is giving weird readings"

"Ok, then I want cloud status, Kevin?"

Kevin glanced at his monitor, currently displaying side view of the Doppler reading, and still he couldn't believe it. He started looking at the data coming in on the cloud, and was astonished at the findings. "Professor, altitude is surpassing… over 30,000 feet! Temperatures ranging from 50 degrees to below 30 degrees… this storm is unmasking more energy that I have ever seen! Detecting convection cycles within the cloud…of immense proportions. I have the feeling we'll be seeing hail that makes Coffeyville, Kansas look like pebbles."

Dr. Hal was silent as he looked at the screen. It was his turn to look amazed. "_Auwe ko'u Akua_"

Just then, another young man came running down the hall, into the so named "control room." Breathless, he took a moment to stop, and then tell the news he had been carrying. "Sir, the Japan Meteorological Agency is on the phone, they are reporting heavy rainfall, and hail of increasing size!"

Another voice came, this time from the front of the room, "Sir, Japan has newscaster reporting record hail."

"Show me" replied Dr. Hal.

One of the front screens changed, this time showing a Japanese woman, for the English-speaking station.

"…_ust started falling a few minutes ago, and already Tokyo is seeing nothing that has ever been seen before. The storm, which the JMA has already declared worst of the year, has recently started dropping hail. And if you see this here… they are already the size of baseballs. Experts say that this particular storm is by far, the biggest and str-_"

The next thing that happened was too unbelievable, an exaggerated Hollywood effect. Right behind the report, the windshield to their news van just shattered, all on live TV. The reporter turned to investigate, and pulled out a broken part of a hailstone, larger than the ones that were falling! Soon, another one fell, this one caught on tape by the cameraman. These gigantic almost basketball size hailstones were falling right in front of Kevin, confirming the extraordinary data on his monitor. Although the reporter immediately ran for shelter, the cameraman did the opposite, deciding that rating were more important, and went for close up of the hailstones. The reporter in the background was frantically screaming in Japanese, but even Kevin could tell she was yelling for the cameraman to move. The shots on the TV were of telephone poles, lights and signs, as well as the van itself, being completely demolished. At this point, the camera was on the antenna, as a few hailstones were making large holes in it. The room stood quiet, all eyes on the screen, now starting to fade the destruction of the antenna. Suddenly, the camera lost focus as it seems to tumble, and was on its side on the ground. A hand appeared, and landed almost in front of the camera, the reporter screaming his name. The last thing they saw before the screen went to static was more hail, and the explosion of the camera as hail pelted it.

The Hawaiian staff stood in silence. Only Dr. Hal made any sound at all. "Get me the JMA. Now."

The young man who first came with the JMA news ran back to the office, only to come back 5 minutes later. "Sir, we lost the connection… we cant get hold of them… I think they were hit."

Kevin sighed, and looked back at the monitor. The data flowing in told that the storm was over. "Professor, the storm is dissipating. It's over now." Dr. Hal looked at him, and nodded. This was the worst hailstorm on record, and it completely devastated Tokyo. Kevin thought about going to the cafeteria, and ordering some food, and a soda, and was ready to do it, until he heard that last thing he wanted to hear.

"Sir, the Australian typhoon is starting to make landfall!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What?" questioned Kevin, on his phone, and lying on his bed. He was ready to shoot himself after all he went through. He had gone through more things in his career in a week than most experienced meteorologists have in 10 years. He already felt close to retirement, and he hadn't even received his doctorate yet. "What do you mean, you want me to leave?"

"Kevin, how do you know that storm isn't going to slam into the island while you're on it? I swear your so into wanting your doctorate that your willing to die for it!" screamed Allison on the other line. Part of her didn't know why she was practically begging him to come home. It wasn't like she loved him in that sense. Well, yes she loved him as a friend loves a friend; it had nothing to do with romance. But still, they had known each other for a good 10 years, and other time like that, a person isn't quickly forgotten. And after Australia's devastating hurricane, she didn't want to risk the loss of a good friend from what she heard about Sydney.

The city of Sydney was caught unaware of the speed and ferocity of the hurricane that shot it. The Hawaiian University's Weather Lab was amazed at the damage done, and how the storm functioned. It had seemed that every storm rule nature had bent to a destructive result. While Sydney remained a functional city by the storm's end, over two-thirds of it was leveled. The famous "Coathanger" bridge over Sydney Harbor had collapse during the storm under the weight of the heavy ice coating that formed over it, effectively sealing off the harbor, and clogging the routes out. The terrible surf that rose up from the storm had grown to enormous feat, and adding to the wave that occurred then when the bridge collapsed, towered over the Sydney Opera House, destroying it with such a tremendous force that pieces were found scattered all over the downtown area. Australia's Southeastern and Eastern ports and harbors were completely destroyed. The storm had enough strength to even cross the Great Dividing Range, flooding the desert outback. New Zealand was buried in snow completely, and the Great Barrier Reef that had made Australia such a beautiful country was completely gone.

And now all eyes were starting to watch north. The experts believe that do to the direction of the prevailing winds that the now Hurricane Noelani couldn't possibly hit Hawaii, since it was too far east. Allison didn't believe it one bit. After Australia and Supertyphoon Max, which had hit Japan, it was obvious that something was out of place, and that there was no telling what could happen with the storm.

"Alli, please calm dow-"

"No, your not doing that old shit you said in high school. This isn't some boy or anything like that. Damn it Kevin, this is your **life** were talking about! I have lost way too many of the people I care about in my life. I am not gonna lose you. Forget your doctorate…. ok? I want you in LA now. Dr. Hal would understand, ok?

Tell him I said so."

"Alright, I'll talk to him, ok? I should in LA when I can go, ok?"

"First available flight, ok?"

"Yes, yes, I'll do it. In fact, he's right here, I'll talk to you later."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dr. Hal had just walked into Kevin's dorm as he hung up the phone. He could see the bags out and starting to become packed. Kevin started putting things away.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Dr. Hal.

"Yeah, I have a problem. I just got hounded by Allison."

A chuckle came to Hal's face. "And how is that different from anything else she does to you? You know, for someone who thinks they couldn't survive the dating process and have no deep feelings for each other… you two act like a perfect couple quite a bit."

It was Kevin's turn to smile. "Yeah, but still, she wants me home now, for some reason Hawaii isn't safe in her mind to Noelani. I know you need me here, but well, I was suppose to leave a while ago."

Hal just looked at him, and nodded. "I know, get your things together, and I'll drive you. And I already sent your equipment to your home. Very smart."

Kevin walked over to his teacher, his mentor, his advisor, and his friend, and held out his hand. "Thank you."

"O please, you might be a mainlander, but you are still a Hawaiian. You are _'ohana_, your part of my family, treat me like one, eh braddah?"

Kevin laughed, and gave him a hug, and then packed as Dr. Hal got his car ready.

Three hours later Kevin was in the vehicle, staring at the airport to the right of him. It was overcast, and a light rain was falling, but nothing in part was due to the hurricane. He turned to face Hal, as he got out of the truck. "You've been a great help to me, and I thank you for it. Well, I guess this is goodbye, then"

Hal just looked up at him, and for the first time in Kevin's time with him, he looked tired, older. "Yeah, I guess this is it. Take care, _Kewine_, Kevin."

"Yeah, thanks for everything, goodbye, Dr. Hauloakianoa"

Kevin turned away and headed for the terminal, ticket in hand, before being stopped by Dr. Hal yelling for him. Kevin returned to the vehicle, and was thrusted a brown box.

"I almost forgot, this is for you, and please, wait to open I until you get on the plane."

And with that, Kevin smiled, and watched his truck disappear down the road. The last time he would ever see Dr. Gary Hauloakianoa again.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Alli, I'm on the plane, I'll be in LA in about 3 hours or so. Ok, I will, well, I'm gonna go, I'll talk to you later. Ok, bye."

Kevin hung up the phone as the plane took off, and soared into the air. As the plane went higher, Kevin took that opportunity to look out the window into the direction of Hurricane Noelani. There, a sight that he had never seen before seemed to take up the entire window. Only about tens to twenties of miles out to sea, there is was, larger than anything he had ever seen. The clouds seemed to go up into the upper atmosphere. It was a giant monster churning the ocean south of the Big Island, and it seemed to suck the ocean up into her eye. Kevin closed the cover to the window, and turned forward again. If that thing ever did hit the islands, there wouldn't be anything left. Finally, he turned his attention to the box on his lap, the gift from Dr. Hal. He decided now was the time to open it, and did so. Kevin was speechless. Inside there was a note from Hal. _You are always Hawaiian here, thanks for your help; hope you enjoy your gift. Kou hoa aloha, Dr. Gary Hauloakianoa_. Under that, a file of job offerings specifically for Kevin. Then, a picture of him and Hal in Hawaiian shirts and grass skirt holding some sort of drink. Lastly, his graduation cap, gown and doctorial tams, and under that, his framed diploma of doctor status. He left Hawaii as a mister, and would be arriving in LA as a doctor. Kevin leaned back into the chair and whispered, _Thank you_.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dr. Hal had just walked back into the lab, and stood over Kevin's empty chair. He was so absorbed in his thoughts about Kevin, though, that he at first didn't hear the shouting going on.

"Dr., the storm, Hurricane Noelani, it coming this way! It's actually coming this way!"


	4. Chapter 4

(Author's note: Hey thanks for the reviews, keep them coming…and once again, I don't own the movie, but I can say I own Kevin and Allison. Hehehehe)

Chapter 4

Kevin had just made the interchange from the 405 to the 118 freeway, and was driving towards Simi Valley, when he realized he was back home. This would always be his home, no matter where he went. He had been to a lot of places for his degrees, from Asia for study on monsoons to the Midwest for tornados. Russia for blizzards and the hurricane route from the top of Africa to Florida. But nothing compared to Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and Simi Valley. Of course, he did think this was the worst place in the world, and did have the Los Angelino's cliché of "What weather?" attitude, but still, it was home.

Kevin then took that time to also notice the new him. An unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt over a white T, followed by blue jean shorts, ankle-cut socks, new tennis shoes, and of course, sunglasses to top it off. He was actually tanned for once, despite being told that his skin tone made it impossible to get anything but burned. He even lost a large amount of weight, making him much thinner, and definitely healthier. He remembered when he left being a little overweight, lazy as hell, and basically not very attractive, which was why he never really had girlfriends until after being in Hawaii for a time. And of course, he was riding in another gift from Dr. Hal: a University of Hawaii modified jeep. It was an open cabin, with special equipment mostly used for monitoring weather patterns, and used mostly towards tornado tracking, or "storm chasing." Of course, that, plus the CD/MP3/radio was presently at his new house, so that it wouldn't have been stolen while he was on his way back into LA.

He then saw a sign: KUEHNER DR., NEXT EXIT and thought, _yeah; I remember that is her exit_ before realizing that he was about to miss that particular exit. "Oh, shit!" he screamed as he slammed the car's brakes for a second and practically swung the car into a 90 degree turn, and screeched the car down the off ramp. After regaining control, he sped down and stopped at her house, remembering the first time there, when he helped her move in. He parked the car, expecting her to be outside waiting for him to make sure he actually listened to her, but no one was outside. In fact, the house seemed too quiet. He got out of the jeep and made his way up the driveway and to the door. He could see it open a crack, and a note on the knob instructing him to go inside. Her parents we're at the present time on a vacation away from LA, so she was alone. He went inside, and turned right to a hallway and went immediately to her room. He walked in, and found no one in there. Thinking she might be in the bathroom, he waited patiently to have a look around her room. He saw plenty of pictures of her life, her friends, and her travels, many of which he was in. A whole portion of her wall was covered with FFA ribbons, mostly from high school, including her 'Reserved Grand Champion" award, the highest one there that she was incredibly proud of. And lastly, framed certificates and degrees from her college days. But one took his eye. There, on the middle of the wall, was a doctorate degree in geology…from the University of Hawaii. Not once did he recall Allison saying anything about geology, but here it was, clear as day. He took a closer examination of it before turning around, to see Allison in the doorway. She just stood there, in a silent gasp, before uttering "Kevin" and throwing her arms around him.

Kevin also stood motionless, before speaking, "I never thought you missed me that much, it's not like I wouldn't have come back.

Allison looked up at him, tears in her eyes, "You have no idea."

"What are you talking about?"

"You mean you haven't heard? It happened… come take a look."

Kevin followed her into the living room, where she turned on the TV. And watched in horror at the breaking news.

_…on a massive scale. For those you have just tuned in, there has been devastation in Hawaii. Hurricane Noelani, a post category 5 storm, slammed into the island chain an hour ago with a tremendous force that the entire area has been destroyed. The vacation spot and state of Hawaii has been wiped off the map. Reports are now coming in that we are looking at a total lost of life, and our sympathy goes to all the family and friends of those vacationers and residents who were lost. President Blake has issued a national disaster area for the entire island, and we also believe that the entire government of Hawaii has been uprooted. Stay tuned to us for further updates and footage when we get them…"_

Kevin hit the off button, and sat in shock, eyes starting to fill up. His breathing started to get heavier, and he could not believe what he heard. All of Hawaii _gone_? No way, there was just no way. He knew they had to be someone alive, some had to. _No, not someone_, he thought, _Dr. Hal is, he's been through a lot, he'd know how to survive…I just know it!_ His first instinct was to go for his cell phone, and he did just that. He immediately hit the number to the Meteorology Department at the University, hoping to get through. Allison saw this and without haste told him that she already tried. Kevin refused to believe her, and waiting until he got the automated answering system, and then slammed his phone onto the carpet.

"Kevin, calm down, I know what you're going through, please." But Kevin just shrugged her off, and picked up the phone, prepared to call one more number; a number he knew would answer. He dialed Dr. Hal's cell.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!

"C'mon, pick up"

"Kevin, it's no use"

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!

"I know you're there, Hal."

"He's not gonna pick up."

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!

"C'mon, pick up, pick up, pick up!"

"Kevin… please"

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!

"Dammit, man, answer"

"It's not going to, please Kevin."

Aloha, you've reached Gary, I'm not here right now, just leave your- 

Kevin smashed the phone onto the floor, shattering it. "GOD DAMN IT, GARY ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, YOU GONNA TELL ME ALL ABOUT THAT EXPER- … you are gonna… you have to… oh god… oh god… he's gone, he's really gone… he's…"

Allison looked at him, and he finally turned and noticed her behind him, and buried his face into her shoulder, weeping heavily. Allison, too, was crying, and had been ever since she heard of the disaster, only she was fearing mostly for Kevin's life, and was now mostly crying for the fact that he was alive and here, crying on her, but he was here. She had not lost the one friend that had been with her for so long, and had the biggest affect on her life. Allison leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, "I almost thought I had lost you too… you have no idea what I've been going through, but at least you're here, and you're alive."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kevin hit the "1" button on the elevator and watched the doors close, before feeling his weight shift as the car slid down its chute. It had been a week since the events that shrank the United States down to 49 states. And these days, there was a national sense of gloom, as well as the news getting more and more depressing. Another big shock was the utter destruction of even the most airtight facilities, making the military disaster of Pearl Harbor seem like a game. The Navy alone lost almost all ships in that area, about a good 30 of the entire fleet. More than 2 million inhabitants died there, and another 300,000 souls unaccounted for. Kevin tried to cope by taking a job offering for the National Weather Service in downtown Los Angeles and working with many people here and at Headquarters up near DC to do his part for the relief effort. One person he met and made friends with through email was a hurricane specialist from NASA, who worked closely to NOAA's administrator, Tom Gomez. Apparently, the U of H wasn't the only group startled and surprised at the sheer strength of Noelani, which dissipated after a while about 10 miles north of Hawaii for another strange reason, and was caught in the jet stream, heading for the mainland.

He finally was able to see for himself the damage that occurred at the university. Early pictures showed the buildings completely swept away, and the storm shelter/laboratory that he had been working in was visible to the outside world, filled with water. He could clearly see parts of the monitors, chairs, pieces of furniture; he even thought he saw dead bodies. He really wanted to go over there to help out with the cleanup, but all commercial flights to Hawaii were cancelled. Honolulu Airport and its ocean runway were found scattered and floating all around the ocean near the islands, and all other airports thee were gone. All non-commercial flights were severely limited, mostly to prevent looting and thievery, to only military and aid personnel. In all, only 5 survivors were reported found. 5 out of the millions there survived the Storm that Killed Hawaii. Some sick people even were renaming it Hurricane Jap, or even Hurricane bin Laden. As far as Kevin heard, Dr. Hal was never confirmed dead, as his body was never found. But Kevin's hopes of escape shrank after rescue crew reported finding his car a floating a mile north of the big island. It was empty, and the keys missing, indicating that it wasn't used in any way. Kevin, too was for a while declared dead, then missing, since the college hadn't had record of his departure, and everything that could have proven otherwise had been destroyed. So it was a shock when a guy came to his parents house with flowers and the plague that had adored his desk in Hawaii, and said how sorry he was to report that Kevin was at present missing and presumed dead.

His thoughts were once again interrupted when he heard the ding of the elevator and the doors swing open. There was Robert Waters, in charge of the late shift from 8pm to 10 am. Kevin glanced at his watch. 4:37pm. He was suppose to meet Allison at his house. Ever since the events of last week, he and Allison were spending much more time hanging. If one didn't know better, one would have thought they were going out or even engaged. But the truth was, they didn't do anything intimate, it was mostly to spend time, as if tomorrow they would wake up and find out that Kevin never came back. _Besides, _Kevin thought as he stepped off the elevator, _she IS going out with that Simi guy_. He then turned to Bob, who was stepping on, and noticed the evil look on his face.

"Hey Bob, you're here early."

"Hey Kev, well, you know me… besides, I thought I'd come in early, see the place in daylight, monitor something, ya know, just… well, yeah"

Kevin grinned slightly. "This coming from the guy who likes to constantly remind us of 'Weatherless City'? I know you better than that. More like you're here to monitor _someone_. Tell me you're still not after the Ojai girl." Bob had always been a ladies man, and would lay eyes on every girl he saw. And he usually got lucky most of the time. Bob gave a silent reply; spreading his evil grin farther out.

"O c'mon, like you're even gonna convince her to stay with you during your shift"

Bob gave a sad puppy look, "Who would want this poor puppy to spend the night in here all alone…"

"I don't swing that way, Bob… go up north a bit"

"Ha ha, San Francisco, I get it. C'mon, Waters always get their girl, you know that."

"Yeah I do, it's called a riptide and its about 20 miles over there." He pointed to the ocean.

"Oh that's cold. Besides, what are you worried about, you have that Allison girl."

"Now who's being cold, you know perfectly well that she and I are just friends, that's all."

"Don't fool me, you know you like her." Bob joked.

"Shut up. Look, I'm meeting her at my place in an hour, if I get through the traffic in time. I got to go. It's been good talking to ya."

"Ok, and tell me how your night went later!" Kevin gave him the one-finger salute. Bob just grinned even more. "Exactly what I meant, you are smart"

"SHUT UP!"

Kevin started to walk to his jeep before making his way back, to the elevator before it closed. "Wait, Bob, one more thing, you should hear it from me first."

"Don't try to tell me to stay away from Tina"

"No, seriously, there is a large low pressure system from what's left of Noelani coming up the coast. Keep a watch on that… and of course, don't forge the giant artic storm. Hey if you can explain them, maybe you'll actually move up in rank." He said with a smile.

"Ha ha again, and maybe I can go somewhere and monitor real weather."

"Oh yeah, and Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from Tina."

_She didn't come from Ojai to get seduced by you_. He muttered as he made it to his jeep, turned the keys, and sped off.

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Kevin was in his jeep trying to install his storm chaser package onto his jeep when he saw Allison pull onto his street. He was able to get the radio and CD/MP3 player installed, but the rest took up more time. Allison pulled up and got out, as he was willing to give up and get out.

"You still trying to get that done? This isn't the Midwest, ya know." She said with a smile.

"Yah never know, Ally, ya never know." He said, and returned the grin.

She locked eyes for a moment, and then turned to his house. "It looks… uh, nice."

"Don't judge a cloud by its looks."

Truth was that Allison didn't find the house ugly or find anything wrong with it at all. It was a very beautiful and expensive looking house. She was just expecting, well, something unusual. But hey, she'll take his word for it. "Lead the way."

Kevin made his way to her, and took a quick glance around. "No boyfriend today?"

"Nah, the evening is yours." And with that Kevin wrapped his arms around her in a deep, yet friendly hug. Allison responded by returning the hug, and they stood for what seemed like hours. Allison then leaned to his ear. "Am I going to actually see your house?"

Kevin stopped abruptly, and backed away. "Sorry" he said and let her inside.

If the outside looked normal, the inside looked different. The entry way was a hallway down to the living room and the kitchen. Aside from a table and letter holder by the door, a coat rack, and plants lining the hall, there was an abnormal amount of framed pictures of clouds, storms and extreme weather. Many, Allison noted, seemed to have been taken by Kevin, including two pictures taken in the Antarctic. One was Kevin with a dish of water flinging it out onto the snow. The second was Kevin smiling holding the same dish, with the water hanging on it in long strokes of icicles, showing how quickly water froze at that temperature. Further down the hall were photos of hurricanes, thunderheads, hailstones, and of course, tornados. She already knew Kevin had a large fascination with twisters, and sure enough there were plenty of beautiful pictures of them, many from his research. One she saw was a very rare incident that she had never heard of, until Kevin told her about it. It was outside of a small town in Oklahoma that Kevin took a picture of three twisters next to each other. While one was joining another, a third was just breaking off of the middle one, making a strange shape of a capital 'V' with a '?" coming out of it.

Kevin led Allison to the living room, and then went to the kitchen to get some drinks for the two. Allison took this moment to look up at his study, at the back of the living room and next to the kitchen, separated only by the raised floor on which the study was located. Aside from the usual office chair, large desk, and a computer system, there where many monitors around the desk, giving his study the impression of a top secret control center. On the desk were a microphone, a web cam, all kinds of papers, and a NOAA mug with cold coffee in it, with a caricature of a tired guy in a suit and the words "Ask me again and I'll forecast my fist in your face with a 100 chance of pain!" Next to the desk was a table, with maps of currents, the world, climates, and other such weather essential maps, but one caught her eye. On top of the rest of the maps, was a map of the North Pole, and a bunch of satellite photos of what appeared to be three giant storms over the North Pole. The most recent photos, dated yesterday, showed clouds covering a quarter of Canada, half of Alaska, Northern Scotland, and Siberia. On the map, Kevin seemed to have marked different station around the artic circle, and the words "Lost Contact" and a date. Allison realized that the three storms looked like hurricanes, super large 'canes with a humongous eye, and that every city and monitoring station within the Artic Circle was marked as "Lost Contact." She quickly glanced at the computer, which started flashing. Seeing as it was just a new email, she glanced at the sender: Janet Tokata. _So_, she thought, _he finally got a girl_. Although not wanting to sneak into his personal life, she hit the email icon on his computer to bring up the mail so he could see. Without warning the new email came up, and after seeing the words update and hurricane, she ended up reading more. It told of the large storm and of the last transmission from Nome, Alaska. Apparently, they said the storm created a strong surge that rose up to 25-40 feet in some places, and that it showed a heavy blizzard. After that, all contact from Nome was lost. Absorbed in her thoughts as she was, she traveled back to the map and studied it until Kevin came out, holding two glasses of Coke. Kevin quickly put down the drinks and ran up to her, and hastily started to pack things away.

"Sorry 'bout the mess Ally… been working overtime with this… didn't mean for you to see this…"

Allison stopped him. "Hold on, what's going on with that, I haven't heard anything at the USGS."

"It's nothing… just a storm… just my job."

"Don't play with me on this. The entire Artic Circle has disappeared!"

Kevin stopped for a second, before putting everything back in a sliding drawer under the table. He then put his hands on the table and leaned against it, head down. "Look, Ally, I can't tell you. Its not because its top secret or anything, but I cant tell you." He looked up at her. "We just don't know."

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The evening went along as planned. Kevin finished with the tour of the house, including an introduction to Nimby, a beautiful orange and white tabby kitten named after the word Nimbus cloud, and his fireplace mantel where his photo of him and Dr. Hal in Hawaii stood atop, candles burning around in tribute to his professor. Kevin and Allison talked about what they left off at, everything they had done, remembering the old days in high school, and early college. Funniest memories of things that happened. Basically enjoying life. Admittedly, Kevin had looked at Allison more than once and thought about how beautiful she was, and then quickly tried to shrug off the thought and return to the conversation, with Bob's words in his head "_You know you like her_" reminding him every so often. Eventually, it was time for Allison to make it back home, and Kevin walked her to the door, and gave her a hug, although he held on longer than he usually did, enjoying her company and the warmth from her. As she turned, he said goodbye, and looked out across the LA basin. From where he was, he was able to see the entire city of Los Angeles, with downtown in the middle, and Library Tower piercing the horizon. Out in the direction of the coast he could see clouds coming in, black as night. "Hey Ally, tomorrow Noelani's remains will hit us. We're looking at good-sized thunderstorms for the morning. Call me later." He watched as she got into he car and drove off. There was heavy fog coming in, unlike any fog he had ever seen, and he was sure there would be hundreds of sig-alerts later in the morning. Strangely, he got the feeling that the city was way too calm. Not just any kind of uneasy calm. No, it was the kind of calm before danger hit. Calm before the storm.

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(A/N: Well, guys, this is it. Unless you haven't figured it out yet, this is where the movie you have all seen and have clear in your minds comes in for control. Thanks for reviewing, especially to Truedesire2005: my first review, annalisavk: for your feedback, FlyingShipwreak: for you advice… am I doing better, and to Cassandra Lee: if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Be ready for more action, and I warn you I first wrote the next chapter when I first came up with the idea, so do panic if the next chapter is short, I'll try to lengthen it, but I don't know what to do yet. Keep reviewing!)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A crack of thunder, far away, entered the dreams of Kevin, changing it to fit the information coming through his ears. Almost immediately, in dreamland, Kevin's dream-self started to think that maybe this world wasn't real, especially with bombs going off. Next to him, a building that just showed up blew apart in a flaming fireball.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Another building did the same thing, and now here he was with a rifle, following a bunch of soldiers to a ditch, fighting obscure people on the other side of a sandbank.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Another explosion, and this time he was in the ditch, looking over a map of the world, trying to direct his troops to the best place to attack the enemy hurricane. _What?_ he heard his mind saying. As he watched the map, the northern parts started to disappear, and in its place the words: CONTACT LOST.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

He watched in horror as Alaska, and then Canada disappeared, followed by New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Hawaii, and then Los Angeles. As a point on the map, labeled "Allison's House" started to vanish, he could hear her like a ghost, _The entire Artic Circle_…_ gone_. Before he knew it there was a bright flash in front of his eyes, registering as a bomb for the time being, and then another explosion, as his body vaporized. His mind said, _Screw it_, and decided the dream had gone too far.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Kevin woke up, and turned over onto his side. Images of his dream flashed across his mind for a bit, and then realized that the storm had come and was the one responsible for his nightmare. He took a look at his bedside alarm clock. 5:12. God the storm couldn't wait another hour? He figured that he should get up anyway, and started to notice the distinct aroma of coffee brewing, his maker set on an alarm to start at 5:00 am sharp, even if he wasn't. Still groggy and not able to focus yet, he reluctantly got out of bed onto the cold carpet, and made his way to the kitchen. As he passed his window, he looked out, and saw a completely black sky, highlighted by lighting rather quickly. He passed without taking notice, and dragged his way to the kitchen. He got out a mug, and placed it by the maker. He then went over to his computer, and turned it on, so that he may start monitoring this storm, which was sounding like a very beautiful and very un-LA-like storm. He didn't have to show up at the office in downtown till ten, so he figured he had the chance to get this storm before it dissipates, a relatively quick occurrence in Los Angeles, where storms like this don't last longer than maybe an hour, if one was lucky. Even light storms never seem to have the gas to let out everything.

As he got back to the kitchen, the coffee maker stopped, its task finally completed. He poured a cup of coffee, and looked out the kitchen window at the city way out. This was one reason for the move to the Hollywood Hills; he had the view of the whole city. The fog that choked LA last night was still here, but it was thinner, and dissipating to the fury of the storm. Winds were just a slight gust, not much to notice from someone who has been through the Santa Anna's. Down on the highways, he could see clumps of lights already forming, which was also no surprise. One of the 'joke jobs' that Los Angeles's Weather Service did was basically report on accidents on the freeways and highways, and it was a known fact at the office that one has to spray a water bottle onto the 405 to get sigalerts on the 5, the 10, the 101, the 405, and any other freeway that was in the area. And from the looks of it, there was going to be another day of accidents and bumper-to-bumper traffic, which of course was typical LA, only heightened due to the storm. _We aren't even in the storm season, but the news will have another 'Storm Watch,' _he thought, _they always do_. Even the thought made Kevin smile, or at least come as close to a smile as he could in his alertness.

It was then he turned upward to the sky, and saw black clouds. His first thoughts were of a 'textbook' storm, one he has seen in books, but then again, he had seen storms like this before. It's just not that often that a large thunderstorm appears over LA. The clouds seemed to push closer to the ground, and made the bottom look like bubble wrap. The thought made Kevin mentally giggle, the ability temporarily gone at the moment. As soon as he wakes up mentally, he would like to take photos and video of this beautiful storm.

Kevin finally left the window, and made his way back to the study. He placed his mug down, and just glanced at the monitors as the tracking program starting to boot. Kevin reached into his top drawer of his desk and pulled out a remote to the plasma screen in the living room, and turned it on, with the Weather Channel on by default. He had access to far better equipment and forecasts, not to mention information, then the weather channel, and it was closer than his TV, but Kevin wasn't interested in what the equipment said, he just wanted to watch the channel he had been picking around since his teenage years. Too tired to watch the program, Kevin leaned back, and just listened to the report, bringing the mug o his lips.

"…_a low pressure system moving off the California Coastline is creating a cyclonic system across the LA basin."_

Kevin sat up straight from his reclining position and starting choking on his coffee, creating spray of hot brown liquid all over his t-shirt and boxers. Yet his mind was not on coffee, it was the news. Had he heard correctly? Cyclonic system? He turned to the TV, hoping to see a Doppler lookout, or at least the weatherman to repeat his announcement. But alas, it moved to the next region in the nation, which happened to be the New England area. Still, Kevin kept his focus on the TV, in the event that they come back to the remains of Hurricane Noelani and Los Angeles, since there was obviously nothing unusual to report… yet. His attention, though, was diverted yet again, this time by his computer, which had started beeping, sounding off a warning that he hadn't experience with this program since, well, Okalahoma. He stared at the warning screen, everything flashing red, still in disbelief. And yet, there has been no statement of any kind by the Weather Service. This will probably be Bob's biggest mistake. But Kevin was still in disbelief, even though his heart had stopped. To no one in particular, he opened his mouth.

"You have got to be kid-"

He was never able to finish the statement. At that moment, his phone rang, and Kevin picked it up at the second ring, there was Allison on the other line, franticly screaming.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down…no, I wasn't asleep…. what?…. are you serious?….. Shit! …. no, I haven't heard anything from the office… I don't know why there isn't a warning, I'm pissed that there hasn't been a watch. Ally, relax, ok? Stay safe, run for cover if you need to. No, I have the perfect place. No, no, just be careful, I'm coming to get you, ok? I'm leaving right now. Ok, I **will** see you when I get there, right? Ok, bye."

Kevin immediately went to his room, and grabbed a pair of slacks, a belt, a dress shirt, and a tie. He quickly threw on shocks and shoes, and made for the entrance hall, with his pants on, shirt there unbuttoned, and his belt and tie around his neck. He knew he might be expected to be at work, especially since he was a specialist in this particular area of weather. He grabbed his keys and his suit jacket, and made for the door. He took one look at his computer, before hitting a switch to transfer data to his other place, a safe place, the reason why he built this house where it was. Then he was in his jeep, and sped off.

Inside, his computer was still giving the alarm, and the alert message, before shutting down:

ALERT: CYCLONIC ROTATION DETECTED. FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTED. TORNADO WARNING REQUIRED.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lucky for Kevin, there was no traffic out of Los Angeles; it was all Valley people going to work. He kept glancing up at the sky; black with the all too familiar bumps of mammatus clouds found in the Midwest. He kept muttering to himself, praying that the sky will hold. Sure it's been no secret that his wish was for something like this to occur in LA, but now he regretted it completely. As he went over the mountains, he could see the rotation on the sky, and the formations of cloud walls in the valley.

Before he knew it, he was crossing Burbank, and discovered the sky had fallen. As he looked across the Valley he could clearly see three tornadoes, with two others forming. Almost immediately he was attacked by falling debris; and watched normal, Angelino buildings get ripped to shreds. He looked down at the instrument between the front seats with no avail; he never finished installing them. He reached down a grabbed his cell phone instead. He could see it was still a little dark, and that the morning was trying to break through the clouds, with no luck. He turned on the radio, and turned it off after hearing a commercial. This wasn't going to work. He then took the time to look down again at the mini TV set used to monitor news and stuff to tell storm chasers of an impeding storm. With a sigh of relief he noticed that it was connected, and turned on FOX News. He saw the weatherman, but alas he was at the beach talking about the surf, not the tornadoes that just touched down in the Valley. Now completely pissed off, he dialed the office in downtown.

Four rings later, he hung his phone up and threw in down. "Damn you Bob! The only time something happens and your too busy making out!"

He glanced back at the news, which had switched to the anchors. And cursed at the sky. He made the interchange and literally flew into Canoga Park, watching people frantically run in all directions. Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin saw in horror a minivan come flying at him, the woman in the front clutching the wheel and gritting her teeth. Kevin swerved out of the way and watched the van crash and spin out, before bursting into flames. Kevin turned back in shock. He just saw a woman _die_. More, since a minivan meant a family. He pushed harder on the gas, speeding down Topanga Blvd. His phone vibrated, and the LCD screen told to check the Weather channel radio station for a Los Angeles weather forecast update. He switched his radio on and changed the station.

…_this is a weather news bulletin. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a tornado warning for all of the San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley, Ventura, Palmdale, Lancaster, Palm Springs, Calabasas, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and the entire Los Angeles basin. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a tornado watch for Anaheim, and Orange County. If you are in the area, seek shelter immediately. Stay away from windows and doors. Go for a basement, center room, or central bathroom. If on the freeway, or a street, leave your vehicle immediately and find a ditch or another place of nearest shelter. Repeat, this is a weather news bulletin. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles_…

Kevin looked up and kept his mind on the road. It was about time Bob paid attention, no doubt the boss called him on it. Kevin reached down and picked up his cell phone, and dialed the office once again. It picked up on the second ring.

"National Weather Service, if this is in regards to a tor-"

"God damn you Bob! It took you long enough to get out the bulletin! Tell me Tina's not there!"

"Kevin, look, I just thought they were dust devils…I mean, tornadoes don't form here. And so what if Tina is here? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm on, uh, Topanga Boulevard, coming up on the mall and the high school."

"And you're fucking yelling at me, what the fuck are you doing in the Valley?"

Kevin paused. "It's Allison, she's caught in the storm in Simi. I'm going over there now to pick her up and her husband. I'm taking them to a safer location. Since they couldn't get the warning in time, I don't know how they will be."

"You never said she was…"

Kevin cut him off. "Now's not the time, Bob, you have a bigger problem. We have LA morning traffic gridlock, and a swarm of tornadoes."

"I'll do what I can with emergency personal. Kevin, how many twisters are there?"

"Right now 4 and one more forming, but they are literally forming at a fast pace. I don't know about the Basin, is the sky holding up?"

"Right now, yeah, but I don't know how long that will last."

"Ok, do your best, and I want you on top of the boss getting there, got it?"

"Yeah, ok, I've got phones off the hook here, I'll talk to you later"

Kevin hung up and dropped the phone in a cup holder before speeding off again. He was just passing the Westfield Mall, located next to Canoga Park High school. Another twister, however, was presently chewing the mall to pieces. Parts of walls, roofs, windows, and cars came flying out of the funnel, and pelting the streets. Cars were either trying to get a closer look, or stopped altogether, as if the danger of the storm did not apply to Angelinos. _It figures_, he thought, as he prepared to pull out his light siren. Though probably illegal here in LA, it served a purpose to help chaser vehicles get to where they need to go, without being held up. At this point Kevin didn't care. Kevin placed it, turned it on, and then turned to the mall, just in time to see a piece of the broken skylight on a collision course with his jeep. There was no avoiding it. Kevin put the gas just an inch more, making it hit the floor, and hoped that he wouldn't get hit himself. As it came closer, Kevin braced for impact.

Kevin closed his eyes, and heard the screeching of metal, the tearing of fabric, and the movement of the jeep before he opened his eyes, and realized that he had been holding his breath. He turned around to find the entire roof of the vehicle and the back of the covering was gone. He was suddenly driving a jeep with a windshield, and nothing else. In fact, the windshield, too, was cracked, but useable. Kevin realized that he cheated death, and knew that if he was taken out, that his closest friend and her husband would be guaranteed to be dead. Kevin turned back to the mall, and saw that twister was heading for the school. Kevin slowed a bit, and started screaming at kids and teachers to get out, as the twister hit. Its first target ended up being the band room, and soon the air was filled with parts of instruments as well as debris, and to Kevin's horror, and backpack. Kevin once again hit the gas and sped off, dodging horns, and at least hitting a sousaphone head on before it flew back up. He tried to ignore the thoughts of the mounting death toll as he sped off headed for the freeway, leaving the school and the surrounding neighborhood to be demolished.

On the freeway to Simi, Kevin spotted at least 5 other twisters, and damage from at least 10 more. This was ridiculous! Things most people here just read about were destroying his beloved home city. No one here had any idea what to do in a tornado. It just didn't happen. There were cars strewn all over the place, and it wasn't supposed to happen. By the end, at least thousands of people were destined to die. Kevin tried to shut out those overwhelming thoughts and just kept his mind on one thing. To save just two people. The girl he loved as a sister, and the guy she chose to marry, the guy who Kevin got along real well with. Before long he was in Simi, with three more twisters in the area. But the twister here weren't what he noticed. This place was already devastated. Most of the area was flattened, and the rest were presently in the line of fire. This place was dead. Kevin found the exit, and sped down the off ramp, hitting fallen cars on the way.

Suddenly he was at their home. And parked the car in front of a horrid site. The house was already hit. Shrapnel and wood pieces were everywhere. Kevin jump out, praying that she was still alive. _Please don't be dead, please don't be dead_, was the thought that ran into his mind. He searched the remains of the house, screaming her name. With no luck, he was ready to turn back, when he heard a rustling of wood, and found a bathroom door trying to open. He raced back, and started lifting pieces away from the door, allowing it to open. There he saw Allison, fine except for a few nicks and scratches on her face and arms. Without thinking he grabbed her and hugged her, his fears trickling away

"I almost thought I lost you," he whispered.

"I wasn't sure if you would be able to make it here" she replied.

Kevin looked up and saw her husband in the doorway, his right arm red, bandaged, and in a sling. "I'm glad you came."

"I said I'd be there. C'mon, its not safe here, Simi is gone."

Her husband cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that the city of Simi Valley is presently in ruins, almost entirely flattened."

Allison looked ready to cry, but shrugged it off. "Ok, lets go, I'll drive." She looked up at her car, overturned and wrapped around a tree. "Still driving, but it looks like it's your car, Kevin"

Kevin was already planning on Allison driving anyway, so he can finished hooking up the equipment, but he wasn't gonna say a word. Just then he heard his phone ringing. "Alright lets go."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Ok, now Alli, remember, now that were in LA county, its not going to be a good idea to go on the freeways, so please, for the love of God, don't."

Daniel grinned, his good hand on the Doppler radar monitor, while Kevin frantically connected wires. Allison was at the driver's, white knuckles at the wheel, as they traveled back down Topanga. Kevin looked ahead and saw that they were near the school and the mall, and realized that Allison didn't know what happened at his and her alma mater. Though Kevin knew her almost as much as a brother knew his sister, being that Daniel was the only one who knew her more, Kevin still wasn't sure of how she'll act about it, and was about to find out.

"Wait, something is not right here," she said.

"What do you mean?" inquired Daniel.

Kevin looked up, and returned before muttering, "Oh shit."

Of course, Allison was the only one to hear him. "Kevin, where is our high school?"

Kevin looked at the rubble. "Everywhere."

"You mean it got hit already?"

"I'm sorry Alli."

"We should stop and see if anyone is okay."

Kevin just looked up from his work again. "You know just as well as I that there is no time. We have to get to LA."

Allison was shocked. The kind guy, the friends before life guy, said there was no time. She glared at him with hatred, and retorted. "So, what, I'm driving."

With that she ran the all-terrain vehicle up the curb of what was left of the front of the school, and jumped out.

"Alli, are you crazy? It's gone!"

"Don't say that!"

"Allison! Come back!"

Kevin turned to Daniel, and agreed to chase down. The school was literally in shambles, and of course Allison went for the most dangerous areas. The 400 building was like a stack of cards; flattened. The 600 and the 500, the first places hit, including the band room, were completely wiped out. Allison had already made it to the far side of the school, when Daniel and Kevin made it in, and chased after her. Kevin, however, stopped next to one of the trees; nothing left but a trunk, and stared at it for a second. He reached up and pulled out a baton, its tip buried in the tree, a few drops of a sticky, red substance on the base. Daniel had her held in his arms, keeping her from trying to brave the path to a hallway, its supports gone. As Daniel started to make his way to the jeep, Kevin walked up to them, holding the baton in front of him.

"Here, Allison, you see? It was hit, its gone, there is no more Canoga Park High School!"

"BULLSHIT! LET ME GO!"

Kevin and Daniel dragged her to the jeep, and leaned her against the door. Allison looked with anger at hate at the two males in her life, and dropped their eyes, setting on some object behind them. Daniel was trying to comfort her and talk to her, but without luck. Kevin started to pace, and glanced at the hood. He stopped, reached around the windshield, and went for the hood, pulling out a twisted piece of tubing. "Alli, my dear, this is the mouthpiece and bit to my old tuba. Now do you get it?"

Allison stood there, all anger gone. "Yes, Kevin, I do." She pointed at a piece of wood, with the letters A-R-M-E-R-S and then an O-F. It was part of the sign in her favorite room, her high school home. FFA, future farmers of America. Now she knew, her school, her high school, her home, was truly gone.

She reluctantly got back in the car, and they were again driving down the road. The next half and hour was spent in quiet, well, as quiet as it could get with dozens of tornadoes tearing up the city they grew up in. Kevin almost had the Doppler hooked up when his cell phone rang, honestly causing Allison to jump. Kevin once again stopped his work to answer it.

"Hello?"

He could barely hear what the other end was saying over the rumble, but he could tell who it was. His boss, Jeff Baffin, the head of the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles, which meant one thing. The city of Los Angeles has finally turned into Kansas City. "Kevin? Where the fuck in God's name are you?"

"Sir, I am right now passing Burbank Airport. Which, I might add, is undergoing a F3 disaster." An F3, the medium disaster tornado. He really couldn't believe that he was actually using twister terms for LA; this isn't what happens. He should be forecasting which degree of inferno LA would get on a given day, not report on any winds higher than the Santa Anna's. The world has definitely gone upside-down, and of course, no one had any clue why.

"Damn it Kevin, you're our best severe storms expert! We need you in the office, NOW! I don't care when you start; I need you in. This is a fucking disaster! How long till you get here?"

Kevin turned to Allison, who knew more than him when it came to LA. "How long till we're in the downtown area?"

"Downtown? I thought we were going-"

"Alli!"

"Uh, on surface streets maybe uh-SHIT!"

A billboard came down and rolled across the street. With a shout of "Brace yourselves!" Kevin grabbed Allison's head and pushed it down, as the jeep tore through the paper and wood sign. Kevin and Daniel raised their heads, but Allison remained down.

"Alli, drive!"

"Oh, sorry, 48 minutes!"

Kevin shouted the answer into the phone, the sound starting to get unbearable.

"What?" It should only take you 30 at the most!"

"Damn it Jeff, we're taking the surface roads, the freeways are in gridlock as usual!"

"Shit, fine, hurry the fuck up."

"Jeff, where are you?"

"I'm almost at Yucca and Vine, and yes, I'm chasing a twister, I'll be at the office in a few."

With that he hung up, leaving Kevin to do nothing but hang up. Allison turned to Kevin. "Who was it?"

"Jeff Baffin, my boss, we have to take a detour."

Daniel was the one who spoke up. "A detour, are you crazy? We got to get to, uh, where were you gonna take us, anyway?"

"My place."

Allison cocked her eyebrow. "What's so special about your place? There was nothing there to indicate that it is somehow safe from tornadoes."

"You'll see when we get there, but first, I have to stop by the office. It figures that there are millions of people in this damn city and of course I'm the only real severe storm expert."

"I don't think there's ti-"

"No, Alli, there is no discussion about it. And don't even think of pulling a 'I'm the driver' bit, this is my duty, and you're in my car."

"Uh, Mr. Severe Storms Expert?" said Daniel, "How do you know if a tornado is about to come down from the sky?"

Without thinking Kevin answered. "Rotation from a mammatus cloud creates a wind tunnel coming down."

"What Kevin means," Allison said, "is that a bump under the storm starts to turn, and stretches down."

"Oh, I see."

Kevin turned around to see Daniel looking up. "Why'd ya ask?"

"Because I happen to see a few stretching over us."

Kevin looked, and sure enough, there were three spawning, much to close together than usual. Without warning, one shot down, and landed in a building a block away. The second shot into the street a bout a half-mile away, and started moving towards them. They were presently running parallel to the freeway, and of course, thee was already debris everywhere. "Allison, hit the damn gas!"

She did what she was told, and they started to speed up. Kevin looked down at his equipment, noticing just one wire left to go. "Alright," he said, finishing the task. "I'm done." He closed the casing up and placed everything where it needed to go. With that, he hit the switch, and hoped he did it right. With a hum, and a flash, he got a map, a Doppler radar, and the TV was back on. His entire area was in white, indicating complete instability, which meant tornadoes. Having his job complete, he changed the channel to his favorite station, Channel 7 Eyewitness News. Of course, there was breaking news, and it was all tornadoes, but the damage was still incredible. He looked up back at the road.

Suddenly, the third twister leaned down, and hit the road in front of them. Unless Allison did some quick thinking action, they were going right into a tube of likely death.

"ALLISON!"

"SHIT!"

"HONEY!"

With lightning quick speed, or so it seemed, she turned left. Kevin was about to sigh a relief when, no, she didn't.

"Allison, what did I say about freeways?"

With almost expert skill, she weaved through traffic; difficult considering that Angelinos finally decided that twisters were dangerous, and start to frantically get away, either by car or not. The twister, however, came up on the highway and started to munch up people and cars alike, snuffing out the small chance these people had of survival. Kevin tried to ignore the fact that there were deaths mounting there, and concentrated on landmarks. The Channel 7 studio could be seen in the distance, and that made Kevin remember about the news going on. He tried to relax, listening to the sound of the twisters, the reporter talking about Air 7, the sound of a helicopter. _Oh shit!_ He forgot about LA choppers, always trying to cover anything for ratings. The wind speed and pressure imbalance took the only thing that kept chopper in control; in this type of conditions, a chopper would lose total control and become nothing but a metal object at the will of the twister. More lives, at the cost of a good story. He looked up at Air 7, aided by the highway footage on the news, where he could clearly see himself. He began to wave frantically, screaming for the chopper to get out of there. His only response was the anchors practically making fun of him, referring to him as a "panicking motorist, obviously unsure of anything due to the extreme weather."

Allison turned to him. "Kevin, you know they wont listen."

"I know." He said, slumping back into his seat. "But they're about to find out."

As the chopper moved closer to the twister, it was already shaking, and turning. Kevin watched the footage on the news, as it got worse.

"... I have never seen anything like this, this is-whoa-incredible. To-holy cow-all our viewers just joining us, what you are-whoa, shit-sorry about that folks-seeing are actual tornadoes in Los-son of a bitch!"

The chopper did a few flips before finally spinning out of control, and being sucked into the twister. He could hear the pilot screaming before his feed was cut on the program, and then watched as a shiny bullet plowed into the ground, the dorsal propeller shooting into a building. The news team stood in silence, a shock look on their face.

"Well, uh, to all our viewers, uh, we recommend you… what? What do you mean there one coming? Uh, I'm afraid we here at Channel 7 can't stay on, there-uh seems to be rumbling- I mean, a tornado, so from all of us-"

The camera started shaking violently, and the news team, weathered from earthquakes, was unsure what to do. But as they were getting out, an I-beam fell, and then another, till the background screen started to tear up, the team scrambling to the exit. One by one they were sucked up into the vortex, till the heavy camera, too, moved along with its buddies, till the picture went blank. Kevin looked up at the station as they passed it, a giant F4 tearing through it. Daniel was fixated on it, and the only thing keeping Allison from watching it was the weaving through traffic, slightly lightened due to a number of cars in the air of thrown off the road. Kevin switched it to FOX, and his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Kevin, are you in LA yet?"

"No, we're passing what used to be Channel 7, Bob, is Jeff there yet?"

"No, he's, uh, he never made it. MTA on his car at Yucca and Vine."

"Oh my God."

"It gets better. We have lost half of LAX, but that can be kissed off pretty soon, the Hollywood sign, and Capital Records. And we have reports of the Pier at Santa Monica being sucked by a waterspout, and threats of Disneyland."

"So much for just a couple of dust devils, huh?"

"Look, Kevin, I'm sorry. If I hadn't been thinking with my, well, please hurry, I don't know what to do."

"It's alright Bob, just monitor the Doppler, the news, and this storm, keep all eyes on it, we'll be there soon."

"Sure thing… boss."

Kevin hung up his phone. Jeff was dead, and yes, he was now the head of NWS in Los Angeles. He always hoped to achieve that before moving to Washington, but not in that way. As Allison started up the pass to Los Angeles, Kevin looked back at the former San Fernando Valley, hoping that LA didn't look like this yet.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Watch out!" yelled Kevin, as the forth chopper they've seen came crashing down.

"You'd think they'd get it by now!" Allison screamed.

"This is LA!" screamed Daniel.

The jeep sped up the hill and stop there for a second. It was a truly amazing site. There must have been 50 tornadoes in the city, like long black snakes stretching up to the clouds, or down to the ground. Down the road a bit, they saw a twisted piece of metal, almost in the shape of an H. They instantly knew what it was, part of the support beams of the Hollywood sign, now gone. It seemed a quarter of the city was now gone already. Allison hit the gas and sped on down the Hollywood freeway.

As they neared Yucca and Vine, Kevin saw first hand the Capitol Records building. At this point it was nothing but a hollow shell, barely held together. The top point of the building was gone, and they could see the other side of building through it. Kevin looked down at the street, but it was cleared already. Jeff was nowhere to be seen. Daniel spoke up, killing the silence between the three. "What's that noise?"

Kevin heard it too, but it wasn't from a tornado, he turned to Daniel before turning back, as it got louder. The steel supports, while built to withstand earthquakes, couldn't deal with being uprooted, and they watch in horror as another symbol of Los Angeles prosperity collapsed; another landmark gone.

They sped on, ignoring the death and destruction, and trying to the best of their ability to not hit cars on the highway, all of which had been abandoned, or killed. In front there was a total highway mess from one of the twister. It was a wall of cars, all abandoned, or with dead drivers, and it was not gonna move. Allison turned to Kevin. "What do I do?"

Kevin looked down the freeway. There were no more off ramps between them and the pileup, and of course there were K-rails blocking the rest of the highway and the sides. Kevin stopped and studied the scene. There had to be a way. Time was running out. Daniel started poking him on the shoulder. "Kevin?"

"I'm thinking!"

"No, I have an idea, how adventurous are you, and does this thing have insurance?"

"A little, and yeah why?"

Kevin followed his gaze to the far lane, and the gears in his head kicked in. There, at the end of the far lane, one of those large car transporters, with no top vehicles on it. Behind that, he could see the road, a surface street. He knew what Daniel was thinking of.

Allison was starting to panic. "Do you have an idea, yet? Cuz we're almost out of freeway."

"Ok, Allison, see that truck? Line up with it, and hit the gas."

"What?"

Daniel chimed in. "Trust us, we have a plan."

"Alli, we are gonna use the top of the truck as a ramp to the road next to the freeway. Just press the gas and hang on."

"That's crazy! What if we-"

"Allison, do you trust us? Do you trust me and your husband?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No, Alli, look at me. Do you trust us?"

Allison hesitated, but then relaxed. "Yes, I do."

"Then lets do it. All three of us."

Allison tightened her grip, took a deep breath, and changed lanes, lining up with the truck. Kevin put his hand on her shoulder, and gave a small squeeze of confidence. Allison pushed the gas all the way down, and felt the jeep pick up speed. In the span of a few seconds, a lifetime passed, and the jeep was suddenly airborne, shooting off the truck. Allison had eyes closed, screaming as the jeep plowed through a bush and ended up on the road, bouncing once. A pat on the back by Daniel opened her eyes, and she regained control of the jeep, bringing it to the main roads, straight to downtown.

The skies were hung low and black, as the city went under siege of a force too powerful to be controlled by man. Twisters formed, made a path of destruction, and dissipated, allowing another to form and continue its route. As Allison made her way down the road, the scene out of a war movie unfolded in frond of them. People panicking and running, buildings damaged and collapsing, and totaled vehicles everywhere. There were hydrants blown, and fires raging. It was a total war zone. As Allison made her way to West 3rd street, a road straight to downtown, her cell rang. Kevin hooked it into his handset, and hooked that into the cigarette lighter, so that Allison could drive. He hit the answer, and the car speakers blazed with the sound of screaming, the voice of Zack, one of their high school friends, going in and out, with static.

"Allison… I…. don't know if your gonna believe… south of downtown…got back from Anaheim… Disneyland hit by… tornado! Yeah, a tornado! There's…one down here, I need help!"

Allison turned to Kevin, who instantly knew what she wanted. Daniel, on the other hand, gave the answer. "No, we can't."

"What? Daniel-"

Kevin chimed in. "No, he's right, I don't think we can. There isn't time."

Zack was listening on the other line. "Kevin… that you? What… mean…."

"Kevin, we have to, he's our friend." Allison's anger started to fill, and tears started to form.

Kevin turned to the phone. "Zack? Where are you?"

"I'm… Downey. Tornadoes are forming… the place. Oh shit!"

Allison turned to Kevin. "Zack!"

From the phone there came yelling, and then a large crash, like a car accident. Zack was screaming. After a few minutes, he came back on. "Sorry about that, my car was hit by an airborne car. Shit this thing is big. …know what to do. What do I…?"

"Allison, there is no way, we can't, there is no telling how much more damage will be caused."

"Damn it, Kevin, stop acting like this will be stopped by you going to work! You have a friend in danger. What the fuck happened to your 'friend's first' bullshit you were always so high and mighty with?"

Kevin was taken aback by this remark, and an instant in time came back, when he once told Allison, _Of course I'll come help, I'll drop anything to help my friends._ All those years, busy with his education, he had forgotten that. He had become the person he swore not to be; the guy who cared for himself first. Kevin knew what had to happen. "Your right, Allison, let's go get him. Zack? Be careful, we're coming for ya."

"That's…. Kevin. Don't worry, I'll be fine, just hur-." On the other line they heard someone shout 'What Out!', followed by a sickening _thud_ as the sound of slicing and a drop filled the phone, and then, nothing. They heard someone on the other line say, "Oh my god, that billboard got him, the guy on the phone, oh god I don't believe it!" Allison was silent, and Kevin tried to confirm it. "Zack?" Nothing. Then another voice was heard. "Watch out for that car!" With a crash, the phone went dead, leaving them to listen to the sounds around them. Kevin could help but feel guilty for Zack's death, and Allison was gonna let him know it.

"Kevin, you happy?"

"Alli, don't."

"You killed him, ya fucking killed him."

"Oh, so now I'm responsible for the tornadoes?"

"You were the one who always wanted tornadoes in LA," she taunted.

"You can't honestly believe that I did this."

"You left him for dead."

"I didn't see you hitting the gas to get him, driver."

"I'm also the one carting your sorry ass around!"

"I am not gonna be blamed for him by myself, Alli!"

"Yeah ya are, you murderer!"

"There have already been enough deaths that I could have stopped, but failed in doing so!"

"Wow, your record is growing."

"Fuck you!"

"Hey!" Daniel screamed, shutting them both up. "Maybe when you two siblings stop fighting, Allison can turn the car."

Allison turned to him. "And why is that?"

"Cuz I'm the only one who's noticed the incredibly large tornado next to us, starting to chew up downtown!"

Kevin turned, and saw nothing but the sides of buildings, and a large, moving wall of wind, dust and debris. It was larger than anything Kevin had seen, mostly due to the close-up factor. But it was still large.

"Shit, I'm turning!"

Kevin kept his eyes on it, but he knew the dark truth. "It's too late, we're gonna get sucked."

And with that, the jeep started to move, and lifted into the funnel. The airspeed was amazing, its was way past 200 hundred miles per hour. Kevin immediately started to protect his face, already scratched by debris. As he felt himself lifted out of the car, he reached down to grab Allison, and Daniel. They had to stay together; there was no option. Soon, the jeep disappeared from his legs, and it was just Kevin holding Allison, and Allison holding Daniel, all in a line. Kevin saw flashed of the city below; they must have been over the 1,000 ft mark. He saw glimpses of tornadoes tearing things up, and for once, the city looked peaceful. That is, until he felt himself getting heavier, and he saw his jeep close behind. He was about to get shot back down, and the jeep was coming with. Suddenly, the jeep started to go faster, and moved to the outer wall of the twister, and with a thud form their line, it was shot out, heading for a building. Kevin looked back and saw Allison, but no Daniel. That thud had knocked him out with the jeep, and he was sailing towards a building. He was gone. Allison was screaming, mostly at Kevin, about Daniel. The tears in her eyes were quickly swept by the winds, and her face was also getting scratched up. Kevin brought her closer, and hugged her, not wanting the same to happen to her. After reaching the top, Kevin felt them fly lower, till he was shot out a foot above the ground, down South Flower Street. He sailed for a block with her, before hitting a stack of newspapers, and rolling on the floor to a stop. When they stopped moving, he got up, in immense pain, and picked her up. She was still weeping, and rightly so. Kevin too had tears, but mostly it was guilt of not working harder to save him. Kevin was ready to commit suicide in 13 different ways. He turned back, and saw the twister bearing down on them, as it hit Library Tower; the tallest building in Los Angeles. The building best known for its destruction in Independence Day was slowly being skinned alive, people being sucked out of windows on all floors. Kevin knew he had to get out of there. He ran with her a total block, before seeing the offices of the National Weather Service a block ahead. His first reaction was to run for the building, the twister was a direct course, and Kevin knew what to do. He dug into his pocket, where he placed his phone after his last call, and dialed the office. After 4 rings, it was no luck. Bob was either too busy, or not in the room. Kevin turned back to Allison, who started wandering off. Kevin grabbed her, but she shrugged her off.

"C'mon, we have to go."

"Leave me alone!"

"Alli, we have to-"

Kevin turned back at the things being churned in the twister, while Allison took off. Kevin chased after her, and made it outside the downtown area, before catching up. "Allison, I-"

"Don't."

With a sigh, he turned back, and saw a helicopter shredded before his eyes. Soon a piece of the fuselage shot out, the edges all mangles, right at Allison. Without thinking, Kevin ran up and pushed her out of the way, just as the metal object sliced through, saving her. Kevin had never felt so much pain in his life. He felt the fuselage slice into him with a clean, yet ragged stroke into his lower right side. At the same time, a piece hanging off it struck him in the face, leaving a nice sized gash from his cheekbone to the side of his head, over his ear. The shock of the blow was enough to make him less active, and he look down at the horrified look on Allison's face. He dropped next to her and fell unconscious, a pool of blood growing under him. Allison, sat up and put her hand on his shoulder, and started screaming for help, as the F5, most destructive twister, tore away at the NWS building, before dying out. Before anyone knew it, it was all over. The remaining twisters slowly died and withered away, leaving a once thriving city in ruins.

There were an amazing 214 reported twisters, something never before seen in history. The entire Los Angeles County, Orange County, Simi Valley, Ventura County, and the desert regions were destroyed completely, or left dead. The Santa Monica Pier indeed was destroyed, as well as the Capitol Records, Hollywood (the city and the sign), Disneyland, Dodger Stadium, Staples Center, and just about every major or minor landmark in the area. The death toll was outrageous. Because this was something never expected or even thought of in Los Angeles, out of 9.9 million people, 8.6 million were killed, with 1.2 million injured. An entire city was wiped off the map, and most of its residences due to inexperience and Los Angeles stupidity. LA harbor would never again be able to be a major port city for the west coast, and the movie industry was nearly wiped out. For once, Hollywood's idea of its own destruction never came close to its new reality. There were no working governments left in LA; the mayor of the city himself was caught in his office, as City Hall was dismantled. Not one person in the world, which had been left in shock after the story went national, could deny it. The beautiful City and County of Los Angeles, founded in 1781, was truly now a city of angels. A dead city.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

Due to the fact that I have a good friend of mine writing this chapter, this serves only as a placeholder for it.

No, it doesnt affect the storyline, so dont panic, just need to wait, but I will give a very short summary

Chapter 10 rewinds the clock back, but puts in a different perspective, one of the not so mentioned 3rd member of the party, Daniel. Basically one will hear his perspective, his thoughts, and his story during chapter 9, and beyond, while Kevin is unconsicence and Allison and trying to call for help and stuff

Thats all im gonna reveal, so you'll just have to wait, but while you do, let the story continue, witht eh next chapter, number 11!


	11. Chapter 11

(A/N: Sorry about the wait, the blank chapter in chap 10 does not have chronological significance in this story, and since a friend of mine is writing it, I will replace the black with it as soon as I can, basically it rewinds the clock a bit and centers on the 3rd person Daniel, from his thoughts, so when I post it, ill let you know. Here, its after the tornado event, and after much reviewing of the film, the book, and my own imagination, as well as research, here is the aftermath. By the way, being a studying meteorologist and the fact that I mention it a few times, I officially dedicate this particular chapter to those affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita, may God bless them and help them. And I do urge to check out the Red Cross to try to help. Ok, time for the aftermath...Enjoy!)

* * *

Chapter 11

Kevin's eyes fluttered open, and were immediately hit by the harsh overhead light. His head hurt, and felt like someone took an axe to it. Other than the light, all he could take in was the concrete all around him, and for a second he wondered if he was in a jail cell. Dismissing that thought as a "jump to conclusion" idea, he tried to recollect the last… how long was he out? And he had trouble trying to remember his previous moments of conscience anyways. It was true; he had a concussion, which just might explain the pain on his head, but not the origin. He was lying on a bed, and decided it was time to get up. As he lifted himself into a sitting position, he winced in pain, allowing a cry of pain to escape his throat. He looked down to see his shirt off, and a large white gauze bandage wrapped several times around him, almost tightly. He lied back down and felt the large gash under the bandage, highlighted by the equally large bright red mark showing on the bandage. The worst part was that once again he had no recollection of it, or even where he was. He thought he start off slow, and make sure he still had a memory.

_My name is Kevin_. Good, he had an identity.

_I am a doctor of meteorology._ Ok, so he has a memory up to earning his doctorate.

_But Hawaii was hit, and is gone, so I can't be there._ Ok, he can narrow down his choices. But also, he remembered the hurricane, the hail, Sydney, Dr. Gary, Tokyo, Noelani, Allison…

"Kevin?"

As if on cue, Allison appeared at the bottom of a staircase, her face seeming worn with tears, as if she hasn't had a happy thought in awhile. Seeing Kevin's conscience self, she quickly made her way to him, and gave him a deep hug, cut short only by his sound of pain, as her arm pressed on his midriff. The feeling of her sudden contact on his naked chest sent waves of warmth and comfort over him, but it was different. It wasn't the same as someone that one really likes touching one's self, but more of a family feeling, the brother sister feeling that they had adopted a long time ago, adopted siblings.

Embracement aside, Kevin decided that best thing would be to get right to business. "Where am I?"

For a second, Allison seemed shocked, but then smiled. "I was told you might have gotten a concussion. You were sliced after pushing me out of the way. After saving me. A piece of the debris also gashed your face, which might explain the concussion."

Unfortunately, this wasn't registering. "Wait, save you from what? Debris from what?"

"Your fantasy."

"What?"

"You really don't remember. Los Angeles has been completely devastated and destroyed from a series of tornadoes. A spawn of tornadoes. The city is more or less gone."

"Oh my God." Slowly, Kevin started to remember everything else. The flight back to Los Angeles, the job at the National Weather Service, Bob, Allison's visit, his house.

"How many, how bad?"

"I don't know, you're the head of the Weather Service."

He remembered it all, the tornadoes, and the chase. And then there was Daniel. All he could whisper was, "Oh my God." Allison seemed to read his mind, like always, and once again wrapped her arms around him. It seemed to last forever; her crying on his shoulder, till they broke off. Amazingly, it was that moment that his mind clicked, and his confusion settled. And more than that. For the first time since he left for Hawaii, his so-called "feelings" were finally understood not as a crush, but as a sibling relationship. Although they happened to be completely unrelated, they had always considered themselves as practically twins, as if they were separated at birth. This thought nearly brought a smile to his face, though he dared not to show any sign to joy at this point. This was a dark time. In fact, way more people are forever lost now.

It was time to get to business, but first he needed his vital information.

"Ok, where are we?"

"You don't remember? This is your apparent surprised, the reason for taking us to your place. I guess this is the only storm cellar in Los Angeles."

"But how? I have it password locked…"

"Oh please, Kevin, I know how you think. T-O-R-N-A-D-O." She walked over to a desk where a computer sat, with a sign on screen showing. Becoming slightly angry, she turned to Kevin, tapping the keys on the keyboard as she called them out. "T! O! R! N! A! D! O!" The computer stirred up and the familiar Windows start up music filled the room. Kevin felt himself turn red from embarrassment, but went into business.

"Ok, fine, how long have I been out?"

"A day. It's right now 11:30am"

"You mean to tell me that you go me here yourself?"

"No, the paramedics did. After a couple hours at Cedars it was apparent that the 22 hospitals remaining were more than overloaded and understaffed, so I allowed them to release you, and you were discharged completely. This city is struggling too much to survive."

"Wait, they can only let an unconscious person go…"

"If a family member approves it. I told them I was your sister."

"And they didn't check?"

"First of all, most records are lost; second, they were a little busy."

Kevin took a moment to let this sink in. "Only 22 left? Which ones?"

"7 in the valley, 1 in Ventura, 4 in Orange County, and 10 in LA, including UCLA and USC."

"And Downtown?"

"Total loss and I mean City Hall as well."

"Who's in charge?"

"You are."

"Of the city?"

"Oh, no, that would be the Chief of Police."

"None of the councilmen or the rest of the city leadership made it?"

"City Hall is leveled. And they were supposed to have a breakfast in there."

"My God. How bad has it been?"

"Mostly it's been shock here, and people trying to figure out what happened."

Kevin slumped back, and seared in pain, which he had forgotten since the conversation. The second largest city in the US was now in ruin, in what Kevin knew would be the worst disaster to ever hit the country, since Katrina/Rita in 2005. Slowly, he slid off the bed, pulled a shirt on, and got his shoes on, sneakers this time. He started to walk slowly to the stairs, headed for the door. Allison watched him. "What are you doing?"

"I think I need to see this myself," he said, before turning back towards her. "Plus, I wanna find my car."

* * *

The first thing he noticed as he exited the room was the fact that half his new home was gone; all that was left were a few walls, and at least one room that he had reinforced to withstand anything short of a direct explosion. As he walked out, the site amazed him: a partly cloudy sky, the sun nearly at its height, and one of the greatest cities on earth in smoky ruins. He started the walk down the hills, and towards the roads at the bottom, in the general direction of downtown. All around him people were standing like idiots at the remains of their lifestyle, or rescue workers working with good Samaritans to pull people out of rubble, or bodies. There were horrifying sites everywhere one went, if it wasn't the wreckage of cars, choppers, or whatever was unlucky enough to cross the path of the onslaught, it was the dead bodies strewn everywhere, of men, women, children, of policemen, firemen, paramedics, it didn't matter. Here in the Hills most people are the upper class fancy, not accustomed to having to endue what "those other poor people" face when there is a disaster, but here they were, actors and politicians, pulling their hair out at the shear magnitude of their loss. It was a first sign of a new reality, one that would grow and change as the weather does.

After a few hours, Kevin finally made it to the Basin, and crossed under the freeway to Colorado Boulevard, and started searching for an abandoned vehicle. With no such luck, he started walking again, till the car behind him pulled up and honked. He turned around to see a fire engine waiting for him, with Allison hanging on the side. "They're going downtown! Hurry up!" she screamed, as Kevin hopped on, and held on, taking in the sheer velocity of damage. Kevin leaned in and tapped one of the firefighters on the shoulder.

"How are you guys holding up?"

"We're good, but the rest of the department is not. Fire Chief is gone, and so are more than half of the stations. You sounding like you got a purpose. Who are you?"

"Assistant Director of the National Weather Service here. Actually, I think I'm now the head director, but whatever."

The dark skinned guy turned around completely, with an evil look in his eye. "Oh, good, so tell me, what the fuck happened yesterday?"

Kevin turned forward, taking his eyes off the now tearing man. "I wish I knew."

* * *

With sirens blaring, and horn honking, the truck pulled onto Hope Street, a rather fitting name considering the situation. All over the road were debris from the skyscrapers, most of which were just completely gutted, with a few fallen scrapers, and a couple with whole parts cut out of it. The building that Kevin worked at was just like that, half of it was missing. The building would not last long. Although Kevin did want to search for his jeep and other things, it was more important to get any data out of there, as well as all important data, charts and graphs concerning the weather in this area, especially after this event. Kevin made his way over, seeing just 5 people in the area, plus a truck full of equipment. Kevin recognized these people as members of the staff, and hollered at them, as he tried to run. Instantly he was met by hugs and back slaps, knowing they made it. After a few minutes, however, Kevin took off the hat of relief and placed the boss hat on.

"Ok, where is the equipment going?"

Ann, one of newer meteorologist, answered. "We're relocating to a temporary building, at UCLA."

Although he knew that the University of California, Los Angeles was a relatively safe place, there was one particular college that was a little more suited for their field.

"What about CSUN? That's the college with the meteorology department, right?"

A senior meteorologist, Paul, pushed a PC into the truck and looked at Kevin. "You didn't hear? Northridge is gone. Cal State was hit with a ground zero F3." This meant that this tornado touched ground in the University.

"Ok, so where we stand with employees?"

"15 of us made it, plus we have another 23 college majors now working with us."

"And Bob?"

"Waters? No, we haven't found him or Tina."

Kevin looked up at the building they were in. The creaks and moans coming from the straining structure were getting louder and more frequent; this building would not survive. Allison tapped him on the shoulder, and told him she needed to check in with the USGS. Kevin picked up a cell phone from the ground, checked to make sure it was working, and tossed it to her. Then he turned to his working crew. "Ok, hurry up with the data; that building could go any time. I want a meeting with the group at UCLA by 3:00, which gives you well over 2 hours. Got it?" Kevin started to walk, but turned back to the group.

"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to have seen my jeep, would you?"

Ann spoke up. "Yeah actually we thought you too were dead. It's on West street, at the Biltmore. This is good; the media can finally have their press conference, we have been holding it off, not wanting to say that our entire leadership has been killed, and that we didn't want to do it."

"Press conference? You're got to be kidding me. Fine." And with that, he walked towards Library Tower, or at least the remaining hollow shell that was Library Tower, one of the biggest symbols of Los Angeles now gone, and what used to be the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

Being specially built as a storm chasing vehicle, the jeep could take a load of abuse and damage before being totaled. But for his jeep, the problem wasn't that it was totaled, but that it was buried upside down in the side of Library Tower. Kevin went into the mangled shell of his former vehicle, trying to salvage anything in it, and also to see if he could find Daniel's body, so that he could be at peace. To his horror, hanging on a bent piece of frame was the entire sleeve to Daniel's jacket. Kevin was absorbed into the world of memory, replaying what he now remembered only a day ago, until he heard the footsteps of someone coming towards him. Knowing who it was, he quickly snatched up the sleeve, to avoid a breakdown from the one person he knew it would hurt.

"Whatcha find?" asked Allison.

"Well, it looks like the jeep is a loss, but I think the equipment inside is salvageable, and it looks like the rest of our stuff is more or less here. I'll just need to pull it out."

"And is… he… here?"

Kevin took a breath, the sleeve rag burning in his hand. "No, there's no sign of him."

"Ok, I'm gonna head over to the Valley, I'll, uh, see you later."

Kevin just stood there, still in shock over his new reality. He remembered what happened that day in August, in 2005, with New Orleans. This was their Hurricane Katrina. No levees, no city below sea level… and no warnings. No evacuations. And now, he had a press conference to tell the nation what? That they have no idea what happened? That they can't explain why the Mid-West went full west? Shaking his head, he finally pried his equipment out, and then took an LAPD patrol car to UCLA, courtesy of two confused officers, trying to help revive a dying city.

* * *

He was in a large conference room, much like the control center, hastily set up by the professors at UCLA's Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Department. Of course, he was at the front, facing all of his crew. The survivors. There was no big screens, no fancy equipment, no enthusiastic faces. These were the people with guilt, with a look of sorrow, confusion and loss all across the face. He, too, was not immune at all. The gash he received on his midriff had opened and allowed blood to flow, especially since this was a gash that nearly sliced him in half. So here he was, in a blood-stained t-shirt and the dress pants he's been wearing since yesterday. He cleared his throat and began his speech, outlining what they were gonna divert all attention to.

"Ladies and gentleman, you all are survivors to one of the biggest weather-related disasters since Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf. You are all natives of Los Angeles, you are all now meteorologist of Los Angeles. There is no more city government, so there is no one to receive orders here. Right now, I need to know what happened in the past 48 hours, and what could or will happen in the next 48 hours. I need to know why this storm took us by surprise, and more importantly, why we received or are receiving a Mid-West climate zone. Right now, Los Angeles has lost a good half of it population, and good deal more are overcrowding hospitals, or have decided to move out.

Kevin hesitated, and then continued, "This isn't the same city you all grew up in, or even lived in at the beginning of the week. There is no movie industry, no Port of Los Angeles, no LAX, no Compton violence, Disneyland, Hollywood, or Downtown. I want a damage assessment as well. I want to know the future, if there is one, of the City and County of Los Angeles. Some of you are undergrads, some majors, and some members of the National Weather Service. But you are all Angelinos, so do your part."

Kevin stood in silence, till it was broken by the hand clapping of one of the surviving media who had stepped in the room and stood by the doorway, followed by more people, and finally by the meteorologist in the room, erupting the building in applause, and bringing a smile to his face, something that had not happened in a while. He turned and headed for the door, the press conference only and hour away. A young assistance ran down the hall as soon as Kevin walked out the door, and handed him his suit. With a kind thank you, he walked to the Gym to change. All classes were cancelled today, and until further noticed, so he knew he'd be alone for the time he needed. After at least washing his hair, trying to not to get the blood soaked bandages wet, he finally got dressed, and took a look at the preliminary notes he receive for the conference. _You can do this Kevin, just act normal, and tell it how it is. Your no journalist, you don't have to lie._ As he finished tying his Winsor knot, he reached for his tie clipped, and stopped as he brought it up. On it was nothing more than a thundercloud and a large tornado under it. It brought a whole new meaning to Kevin, and he knew he was finally ready.

* * *

The conference was set up on the lawn in front of the University, and Kevin sat back, as it started. He looked up at the sky, with the almost taunting feathery like cirrus clouds overhead. Finally, he heard his name.

"…and now, ladies and gentleman, I want to introduce the new head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service of Los Angeles. Dr. Kevin Gabriel."

Kevin stood up, still feeling pain in his side, and the blood flowing slowly underneath. But he kept his cool, and walked up to the podium, prepared to give his speech.

"Good Afternoon. I am Dr. Kevin Gabriel. Yesterday, at 4:08 am, Pacific Standard Time, the National Weather Service began watching a thunderstorm formed from the former Hurricane Noelani, as it moved up and into the Los Angeles Basin, as well as Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley. Preliminary reports suggest that the first tornado was spotted in Ventura at 5:24 am, soon to be followed…"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Kevin sat in the office of the head meteorologist, rubbing his eyes. The press conference did not go as bad as he would have thought. However the real work began. Already reports were showing that the storm intensified as soon as it entered the Basin, which was rather unheard of. Then again, storms of this magnitude in L.A were also unheard of. He parted his fingers to watch the TV, currently turned to Fox News.

"_Greetings, I'm Sharon Stefani. Los Angeles is still reeling from yesterdays devastating tornado outbreak. Already FEMA is planning a response, but is held up with an almost complete isolation of the city, as the majority of the routes into the city and surrounding county are currently blocked up. With a death toll climbing into the hundred thousands at least, this has already been paired up to 2005's Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Unfortunately the dead also include the Mayor, the Councilmen, the Fire Chief, and various other athletes and actors. The city of Hollywood is reporting a total loss of its industry, striking a major blow to the entertainment industry of the nation. The acting Mayor and the Governor have requested this place to be declared a national disaster area. Stay tuned for more coverage of the LA disaster here on Fox news. Right now what you are looking at is a live picture of what's left of downtown Los Angeles…."_

Kevin got up and clicked the TV off. He heard enough, especially since he was severely hounded at the press conference. The Press that there were could not be satisfied with the answers he gave, and continued trying to pry. It was a horrid ordeal. Shaking his head, he walked back into the dubbed 'Control Center' and took a seat at the professor's desk. A young graduate student walked up to him with weather maps.

"Sir? I think you take a look at these."

Kevin pulled the report to him and read. This was not looking good at all. According to the reports, the ocean temperature had been steadying increasing. That is what enlarged the storm.

"Wait a second, why wasn't this noticed? This is a rather large change in temp."

"I, uh, don't know. I guess they didn't deem it important enough."

It was already 6 pm when he finally called it a day, and headed home, via a squad car. It was eerily darker tonight, as the lights of the city were gone, especially downtown. As he looked up, he could see quite clearly the stars in the sky, as if he was at one of the observatories. Slowly the car drove down the freeway, and Kevin was able to observe crew working to clear debris and look for survivors. He then took the time to see the collapse Capitol Records Building, and where the Hollywood sign used to be. It seemed all the landmarks that made Los Angeles had been destroyed.

When he finally reached his home, he looked up to see Allison, standing in the doorway. He slowly walked the steps. It seemed like a long time ago that they were just kids, really, at least young adults. Now here they were; both survivors, and both now mentally beyond their years. When he finally raised his head to her, she spoke equally as softly as they felt.

"Tom Gomez is on your computer. He wants to speak with you. Vid chat."

"Gomez? The Head of NOAA? What does he want to do with… oh, right. Lead the way." Kevin said, following her to the cellar. On the way, he foot stopped on a fallen picture, which used to line his wall. It was the tornado pic. Smiling, he picked it up and took it with him.

The cellar was actually quite large; with an entire apartment like setting, and a wine rack on the farthest wall towards the door. With a bed, a couch, a computer, a chair, and a TV, the only thing that saved him was the generator that was working. He pointed to the "kitchen area" and gestured her to get something to eat. He then proceeded to sit down, and turned on a projector so he could see the face of the Head.

"Sorry about the delay, just got back from our temporary headquarters. We are currently staying at UCLA's Atmospheric Science Building." Kevin said.

"Not a problem, we tried to get hold of someone earlier, but there is nothing at the former office."

"No, sir. NOAA has nearly lost everything. The building came down about 4:30 Pacific Time today."

"Very well, we here in Washington are preparing to have a meeting tomorrow, but I wanted to get info on what happened over there. The tornadoes were national news, in case you didn't know. Tell me what happened."

"From what we gathered, Noelani technically was upgraded to tropical storm yesterday, as it passed the Basin. Our oceans sensor registered an increase of temperature leading up to the event, which due to the warm period we were in, we dismissed. However, it was the heat, plus the warm water, that shot unprecedented strength into the storm, thus creating a cyclonic system never before seen since the tornado years of the late nineties."

"How many twisters?"

"Reports put an estimate of around 300 spotted funnels, with a report of at least 200 of them actually touching the ground. All in an area spanning from Santa Barbara to Encinitas, and as far east as Palmdale, and Palm Springs."

"So how is Los Angeles holding up?"

"It's not. There is no government, and the only thing keeping the peace and order is the Police Chief, and the state of shock the city is in. Damage wise, it will probably be most costly then Hawaii. Downtown itself is officially close off to everyone. There are now only three freeways that are accessible out of the city; one north, and the other two south. Heaviest loss of life is in the San Fernando Valley, but so far Santa Clarita and Simi Valley are reported to be wiped out. Movie industry is gone, as well as nearly all landmarks, and amusement parks. LAX is shut down, and the port of Los Angeles is gone, as well as the Santa Monica Pier. There we had the first waterspout registering as an F4 there. To say that LA lost half it's population is a big understatement. I mean, no one ever expected this. The climate of Los Angeles and Southern California has changed, and we don't know why."

Gomez was silent for a long time. This was a shock to him. "Wow, so tell me, how is the ocean temperature now?"

"We have been monitoring it a lot more. The temperature has dropped. It's now below average."

"Alright, thank you. I wish you luck with everything. I will talk to you again after the conference."

"Yessir, can I ask you something?" Kevin said.

"Go ahead."

"We aren't able to track the storm, where is it now?"

"It dissipated outside of Phoenix, but not before giving that city a little Mid-

West feel. It wasn't as bad, most of the damage seems to be in LA and the Mojave. But there were reports of at least 10 tornados touching down, with a toll of around 3,000, a good portion of which was in a crowded hotel."

"Thank you, I'll talk to you later."

Kevin disconnected the web chat, and then dropped his head into his hands. It was a very tough time for him, as well as the rest of the city. Sighing, he lifted his head, taking a sniff of the aroma of food. He had directed Allison to get a bit to eat, and instead she made a dinner. Smiling, he got up and walked over to her. She looked up at him, defiantly trying to show the cheerfulness that used to come so easily for her. "I made dinner."

"Thanks, Ally. I'm sorry for all of this."

"Not your fault. Don't worry about it."

"It's just… you're right never mind. Thanks for making dinner."

"It's your food."

"You cooked it."

"Oh great, without me, you would starve, wouldn't you."

"Oh shut up."

"And you have an underground bunker as your storm shelter, why is that?"

"Grr."

"Grr, back."

"Counter-grr."

"Infinite grr."

With that, they sat down, with the first laugh they had in a while. With everything that occurred in the last 48 hours, the idea that they were having a meal, sharing laughs… it was but a sign of hope. Maybe things would turnout alright.


End file.
